Method of treating finely-subdivided material.



iil ST E GEORGE C. LEWIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF TREATING FINELY-SUBDIVIDED MATERIAL.

Be it'known that I, GEORGE C. LEWIS, a subject of the King of England, and a resident of the city of New York, New Dorp,

Staten Island, borough of Richmond, Richmond county, and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Treating Finely-Subdivided Material, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is a new and improved method of treating light flocculent or powdered material, or any substance in a fine state of subdivision so as to better adapt it for handling, shipment or storage, reduce the labor cost involved, and lessen the dusty character of the material.

By means of my inventlon, I am able to reduce a given mass of such material to a fraction of'its former volume without me chanical pressure and without impairing its softness, working qualities or state of subdivision. As a result of the use .of my improved process, I am able'to reduce the size of the minute interstices or interstitial spaces between adjacent particles, flakes, crystals, or other units of the mass and bring said units of the mass closer together without altering their individual s1ze or character, at least to any material or appreciable extent. These minute interstices are rdinarlly filled with occluded gas or atmospheric air which gives to the material its distended or inflated condition and which -cannot be satisfactorily reinoved, to reduce the size'of said spaces by said mechanical operations as compression of the mass, or the subjecting of it to a partial vacuum.

In carrying out my process, I firstdisplace the occluded atmospheric air or other gas by a liquid which will not act asa solvent for the mass being treated and will not act to chemically or mechanically change the particles themselves. may be brought about by thoroughly intermixing the liquid and material in any suit-' able manner and by means of any suitable mixing machine or by adding either the liquid or the solid to the other. The relative proportions of liquid and solid are preferably such as to form a paste or wet plastic mass although a larger quantityo pro portion of liquid may be used "if desired without detriment to the process. During the intermixing the liquid forces out and Specification of Letters Patent.

This treatment Patented Apr. 1%, 1918.

Application filed January 25, 1917. Serial No. 144,337.

displaces the gas and by surface attraction, caplllary attraction or other action, the

particles of the mass are brought very much closer together or rearranged and shifted in position so that the interstitial spaces are of very much smaller magnitude when filled alone or accompanied by heating at a temperature below, that which will ;in any way adversely or deleteriously aifect the material by melting, decomposing, charring, or otherwise. The removal of some of the liquid and particularly at the beginning of the operation, may be secured or facilitated by the treatment of the mass to centrifugal ction in a suitable centrifugal drier, strainer or separator. The liquidremoving opera tion may be and preferably is continued until the mass regains its original dryness and is thus ready for shipment, storage or commercial purposes. The liquid removed by evaporation, or otherwise, may be collected or condensed and may be used over again in treating another mass of material.

I do not wish to be limited to any particular kind of apparatus and illustration ppears tobe unnecessary. The intermixing may be accomplished in any suitable on a drying tray. These are merely suggestions as to the apparatus which fnight be employed.

Due to the reduction in the volume resulting from the use of my improved process,

a given'mass of the material may be tored in a smaller space, shipped .in a smaller and lighter container and handled more economically, particularly as to labor cost and as to the losses in the form of rising dust.

during the handling. The process 4 may be used for treating a large number of differ- I ent substancesand I do not wish to be limited to any particular one.

v j ectionable residue.

Merely as an example of a material in connection with which my process may be used togreat advantage, I may mention carbon black or lamp black. As these are practically insoluble, there is a great range of readily volatile liquids which may be used to dis lace the occluded gas and which will not a ect the constituent articles of the mass. Preferably, a liquid is employed which, upon evaporation, leaVes no sediment or residue, or at least no deleterious or ob- Distilled water, alcohol, ether, gasolene, or various other liquids are suitable, although if great purity of the product is-not absolutely necessary, ommercially pure water may be used instead of distilled or chemically-pure water.

Asa further important feature-of-my invention, I may utilize my process for not only reducing the amount of occluded gas, but at the same time to thoroughly intermix with thematerial other substances which mag aid in reducing the dusty character an which are not inimical to, but useful in connection with the material in some product into which the material is to be finally incorporated.

For instance, if carbon black or; lamp black is to be used in the manufacture of rubber, rinting ink, or certainother products, sultable hydrocarbons, colloidal or oleaginous materials may be intermixed with the carbon black or lamp black at the same time the liquidis being intermixed to displace the occluded gas. facture of printing ink, resin oil is a useful ingredient and in some rubber formulae, certain waxes, oils, etc., are used. In the latter instance, particularly, only small amounts of such hydrocarbons are permissible and dificulty is sometime encountered in getting them thoroughly intermixed and uniformly distributed in the carbon black. 4 In carrying out my improved process, ll make anemulsion of these ingredients with a liquid if they are insoluble in that liquid or dissolve them in the liquid if they are soluble. A paste may be made using from four to five times the weight of liquid tothe. weight of powder and asthe hydrocarbons or other substances are thoroughly intermixed withthe liquid, they will thus becfome thoroughly intermixed with the powf fider. It maybe then thoroug dried to will have the hydrocarbon or other material evaporate the liquid and the resulting mass In the manu-' thoroughly incorporated in it and such material will aid in reducing, if not entirely destroying the dusty character of the pow der and thus reduce, if not eliminate, the losses incurred by powder carried away by air currents during manufacturing processes. This effects not only a saving in the 1. llhe process of treating flocculent or other finely subdivided material to reduce the volume of a given mass to facilitate handling, shipment or storage, which includes displacing the occluded gas in the interstitial spaces with a readily vaporizable liquid and then removing the liquid by evaporation.

2. A process of treating flocculent or other finely subdivided material to facilitate handling, shipment or storage, which includes displacing the occluded gas in interstitial spaces by mixing the material with a liquid which will not dissolve or chemically afl'ect the material andv which will form a paste therewith, and'evaporating the liquid from said paste.

'3. The process which includes forming anemulsion or solution of a small quantity sov of oily substance and a completely vaporizable liquid, forming a aste of said mixture, and a flocculgnt or other finely subdivided material, an then evaporating a liquid therefrom. I

4.. The process of preparing a composition including carbon black or lamp black New York, and State of New York, this 24th day of January A. D. 1917.

stones 0. LEWIS. 

